A Stock Contractors Nightmare: More Than 40 Horses Dead With No Remedy

As the news spread, the devastation just kept growing. Beutler and Son Rodeo Company is going through a nightmare.

Beutler and Son Rodeo Company / Beutler and Son Facebook

The website for Beutler and Son proudly displays "since 1929," meaning that this year would be 95 years in the business of stock contracting.

The year of 2024 will be one that the family and the rodeo industry will never forget.

The news started circulating on Monday and has since devastated the rodeo industry.

Beutler & Son Rodeo Company had suffered a significant loss. Over 40 horses were dead and the number may keep growing.

While there is still an active investigation, it is believed that feed containing monensin was fed to the herd of horses. How that happened is still in question but without a doubt it was a mistake.

Monensin is sodium monensin which is also more well known in the industry as Rumesin. This particular ingredient is regularly added to feed for cattle, sheep, goats and poultry.

The additive is touted to be a cost-effective tool that improves feed efficiency in beef cattle by increasing their average daily gain. The same source also lists a caution statement, "Consumption by unapproved species or feeding undiluted may be toxic or fatal."

Vetster reports that as little as 2 mg of monensin per one kg of body weight is toxic to horses.

Ultimately the monensin causes heart damage that is most of the time permanent. The horses symptoms will include loss of appetite, exercise intolerance, weakness and excessive sweating. There is no antidote for monensin toxicosis and a high percentage of time the treatment for a horse that has ingested monensin is just palative care.

Around the rodeo world, Beutler and Son are known to produce some of the biggest Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeos. In 1997, Bennie Beutler was awarded the PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year award and in 2010 he was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. The company has had multiple Top Saddle Bronc and Bareback Horses of the NFR showings. Add to those awards a long list of PRCA Bareback and Saddle Bronc Horses of the Year.

At last year's National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Beutler and Son provided some of the best of the best roughstock including: four bareback horses, three saddle bronc horses and two bulls.

Centered in Elk City, Oklahoma, the rodeo company was still in its busy summer months. In fact, they were about to be the main contractor at the Elk City Rodeo of Champions to be held at their namesake arena, August 30 - September 1.

With the incredible loss, other contractors had to step up to help produce the rodeo. The ProRodeo Sports News reported that Sammy Andrews Rodeo was just one of many who knew what they needed to do in a time of need. Due to the help, the rodeo will go on as planned.

"The Andrews and Beutlers go way back," Sammy said. "Our families have always kind of been intertwined. Bennie and I have been the best of friends forever. So, it was a no-brainer for us to step in and help. When a disaster like this hits the goodness of everybody steps up."

The loss is not something anyone can quantify. The lifetime of work developing genetics and fine tuning a complete herd of stock is not something that can be replaced.

Specifics of horses lost have not been shared, but the sheer number says that much of the future, some of the present and certainly history has been affected by a tragic mistake that could not be rectified.